


Wide and Wavering

by hollyandvice (hiasobi_writes)



Series: Holly's Round Ten H/C Bingo Card [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Shipwrecks, Stranded
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-17
Updated: 2019-06-17
Packaged: 2020-05-13 09:03:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,880
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19248049
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hiasobi_writes/pseuds/hollyandvice
Summary: Tony comes to with a throbbing in his left temple that outpaces even the aches in his knees. It's one more reminder that he's starting to get too old for this. He tries not to think too hard about the repercussions of another concussion. If he'd just had his helmet on when--Oh. Missiles. A crash. The emergency landing. And--Cap.In which the Quinjet crash-lands leaving Tony stranded after Steve jumps out of the plane. Again.





	Wide and Wavering

**Author's Note:**

> Title adapted from Lana Del Rey's _Ride Monologue_.

Tony comes to with a throbbing in his left temple that outpaces even the aches in his knees. It's one more reminder that he's starting to get too old for this. He tries not to think too hard about the repercussions of another concussion. If he'd just had his helmet on when--

Oh. Missiles. A crash. The emergency landing. And--

_Cap_.

Tony wrangles his way out of his seat, fighting with the seat belt more than he thinks he should strictly need to. He's distracted and disoriented -- not good signs on the concussion front, if he's being completely honest -- but he has enough of a singular focus that it doesn't seem to matter. Because he'd had to face front and try to land the damaged plane while the fight broke out behind him, halfway through which Cap had dropped out of the gaping hole in the bottom of the Quinjet.

_We're not that high up. He's probably fine. Probably._

Okay, so Tony is definitely lying to himself, but he's also not about to stop any time soon. If this is what's keeping him upright and moving toward what might be a chance to save Steve, he's not going to stop now.

Tony staggers out the torn open side of the jet, blinking through the light that's trying to take over his vision. He swallows down the nausea that rises in his throat -- it's worry for Steve, that's all it is -- and the blinding headache that's trying to start behind his eyes -- it's the light after being stuck inside the dark jet, that's all it is -- and continues his unsteady march forward.

His vision comes into focus slowly, the world pulling together at the edges and resolving into something that kind of makes sense. Trees and sand and water -- a beach, then -- and Tony doesn't know exactly where they are but at least they're on land. That has to count for something. It occurs to him all at once that he probably should have checked the Quinjet's nav system to see where they'd actually crash-landed. Tony's no Boy Scout, but he certainly knows the value of being prepared.

The thought has him choking down a laugh, then groaning at the pain that makes its way through his head. He's starting to think there might be more to this head injury than he gave it credit for. But Steve has to come first. He's more important than Tony will ever be, and if Tony doesn't make sure he survived the crash, he won't be able to deal with his own injuries in peace.

The sun is low on the horizon, and Tony can feel the dread start to settle in his stomach. Steve's out there in the water somewhere, and that would be nerve-wracking enough at high noon. In the middle of the night? Tony has no chance of finding him like that.

He lifts his hand to his ear, an old habit he can't seem to break, and speaks into his wrist as though JARVIS can hear him any better there than through the range of speakers in the suit. "Captain America, do you read me?" There's no response at first. Tony tries three more times before giving that up as a waste of time in the moment and putting out a constant signal to connect to Steve's coms. He puts out a distress signal too as an afterthought. With Steve not picking up on his coms, Tony feels the worry twist even tighter. He swallows again and gently shakes his head to clear it. Life sign scan. That's the next step. Seeing if Steve's anywhere in the vicinity of his scanners. Tony sets up the scan on his gauntlet unit, then pulls it off and sets it down at the edge of the beach. Better range while he goes and sees what survived the crash.

"JARVIS, notify me if you get any life signs from Cap."

"Of course, sir."

For a long moment, Tony looks out over the ocean. If he'd just gotten the shields up a little faster, maybe--

Tony forces himself to turn away from the ocean. There's nothing he can do for Cap right now while he waits for his tech to do its job. He just needs to take the time to make sure that everything's set up when he does finally find Cap. He drags himself across the beach to the Quinjet, his muscles burning and his bones aching.

He's not sure how he makes it to the Quinjet without falling to his knees. He's in front of the jet before he realizes it, blinking dully into the empty non-light of the blinking, dying displays on the jet's main console. It takes a moment before he can make himself step over the edge into the jet, his whole body starting to tremble. He eases his way to the pilot's seat and stares down at it. Then he settles his way into the seat, fingers trembling as he boots up the console.

"JARVIS. Status report."

"Of course, sir. The computers are online but operating at 30%. Boosters are all destroyed and both wings are bent."

"So you're saying we're not getting this bird off the ground."

"I'm saying we're not getting this bird off the ground."

Tony sighs and rubs his hand over his face, body starting to lapse and give up. "Scan for Captain America's life signs for me, would ya?"

"The long-range scanner was damaged in the crash, sir. It is unlikely--"

"I said what I said. Scan for Captain America's life signs and get me an overview of what needs repairing that we have the supplies to repair."

"Certainly, sir."

Tony leans back and closes his eyes, letting JARVIS set up the overview. He's tired. So tired. Maybe if he just rests for a moment...

"Master Stark. Sir."

Tony startles. "I'm up, I'm up."

"Of course, sir. Your schematics are ready."

There's something like relief in the AI's voice. Tony tries not to look too closely at that. "Good. Then point me at what needs fixin'."

Tony heads down to the bowels of the jet, connecting wires and setting up motherboards. He loses himself in the monotony and consistency of the motions, his mind wandering.

He's stuck. Stuck by himself. It's not ideal, not the way things should be going, not the way he saw things going. But there's so much more to do, so far to go, and he has a distress signal ringing. That's all he has, all he can have, and that's what he holds onto.

That and the desperate, blind hope that Steve is still out there.

He tries not to think too hard about it -- Cap, out there in the ocean, weighed down by his uniform and his shield. Because even if he's smart enough to ditch the uniform, there's no way he's letting go of the shield. It means too much to him. Too much a symbol of what he stands for. Unique. One-of-a-kind. Tony can't begrudge him the sentimentality.

Tony loses time as he works, drifting off in the midst of a task several times. Twice he drifts off long enough that JARVIS has to gently rouse him from that in-between space and help him refocus on the task at hand. Once he blinks and the light in the jet has gone from dusk to dark as though in the space of an instant. Tony licks his lips. "We got enough power for full lights in here, JARVIS?"

"Of course, sir."

The light makes it easier for Tony to see what he's doing, his hands and fingers better able to attend to the minutiae of resetting subroutines and connecting wires. It's as he finishes touching up the long-range sensor that the alert finally sounds.

"Sir, it seems that--"

Tony cuts JARVIS off before he can even finish the thought. "You found him?"

"Yes. Close enough that we would have caught him on the short-range scanner within the hour."

Tony pumps a fist into the air, relief blossoming in his chest. He's halfway out of the bowels of the ship and making his way toward the beach before he realizes what he's doing. He turns halfway back to look in at the jet guiltily.

The amusement in JARVIS's tone is obvious. "I'll continuing rendering potential repairs to the ship, then, shall I sir?"

"Yes," Tony says, the relief cresting over his head like the waves that will bring Steve back to him. "That sounds perfect."

Tony makes his way back out to the edge of the beach, the water lapping gently at the sand. Tony settles down at the edge of the water. Something in his mind convinces him to check whether the tide is coming in or going out, one more reminder that he still hasn't figured out where they landed, that he still isn't functioning firing on all cylinders. He licks his lips again and pulls up the GPS.

As he'd expected, they're in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, thousands of miles from the nearest inhabited island. It's not good news on the rescue front, but it's enough information to pull up a schematic that tells him that, yes, the tide is going out, and he's fine to stay exactly where he is until Steve makes it to shore. Tony clicks his coms on again. He's not expecting Steve to talk back to him -- he's probably exhausted from how much swimming he's had to do -- but Tony thinks if it were him he'd like to have a friendly voice in his ear.

"Hey Cap." Tony closes his eyes and rests his head back as he leans back on his arms. "Hope you're still swimming like hell out there. Scanners picked you up finally, which means you're at least going in the right direction. So that's good news, I think."

Tony turns his head to the side, looking out over the long stretch of beach. "This island doesn't seem to be inhabited, given that the scanners didn't pick up any life signs. So that's a point against us. Still, we've roughed it before. Well, you more than me, but the point still stands."

The lack of response, though anticipated, still hurts. "God, I hope you can hear me, Steve. I don't think I could handle it if--"

Tony shakes his head. "The jet's totaled. Not sure we're gonna be able to salvage much. But you're great in a pinch and I know once you get here you can help me figure out how to get us out of here. Two heads and all that jazz." Tony smiles weakly. "Just make it here, Cap. Please. Just make it here."

Tony drifts in and out, keeping up a running commentary when his mind isn't lost in the throes of pain. It isn't easy and only the thought of Steve is really even enough to keep him clinging to consciousness. At some point Tony's head tips back far enough that the thought of tilting it back down is entirely too much. Besides, the stars are beautiful. He can look at them for as long as he wants to.

He's drifting when the sound of what must be something rising out of the water catches his attention. He tries to tilt his head back down to look and see what it is, but his neck is stiff, and it's frankly easier to just stay in this position anyway. Then it's the sound of sand crunching underfoot followed by a desperate shout of his name and then Tony's treated to Steve in all his naked glory. Tony can't quite make out his features in the light of the crescent moon, but from the way he says Tony's name, he's pretty sure that's for the best anyway.

"Hey Steve."

The tension bleeds out of Steve's shoulders. "God, Tony. Scared the shit out of me when you stopped talkin'. The hell's goin' on?"

"Crash landed," Tony says, his brain still playing catch-up with the moment. Steve's accent is coming out stronger than usual. He must be worried. "Jet's a mess."

"Yeah," Steve says, incredulity in his tone. "You mentioned."

Tony hums. "Come on," he says, reaching an arm out to Steve and trying not to feel the way his joints creak. "Help me and my old joints up. Been sitting here too long."

Steve huffs but helps Tony to his feet. "Should've stayed in the jet, then."

Tony rolls his eyes. "Couldn't let you come back to me and not know where I am, could I?"

Steve's quiet as they make their way into the jet. "No," he says eventually, easing Tony into one of the passenger seats. "No, I can't say that you could."

Tony tries not to think too hard about the tone in Steve's voice.

Steve shakes off the melancholy and turns to Tony. "Where are we?"

"Middle of the Pacific somewhere. Beyond that... Dunno. Long-range scanners were down. Didn't much have a head for fixing 'em."

"Tony."

"Head injury," Tony counters, then winces at the way the sharpness in his tone leaves his head throbbing again.

Steve's features are pained when Tony looks back at him. "You should have been finding a way to get yourself home, Tony. I can manage. I've always managed."

"Bullshit," Tony mutters.

"What?"

"I said bullshit," Tony says, ignoring the way he might otherwise have held his tongue. "You were my priority, Cap. As you should have been."

"I would have made it to shore in time.

"Maybe," Tony concedes. "Maybe not. If you didn't make it back and I could have done something about it?" he laughs sharply. "All the tech in the world does me no good if I don't have you standing at my side making me a better man."

Steve stares at him, eyes wide and haunted in a face still red from sun exposure. "Don't say that Tony. For the love of God, don't ever say something like that ever again."

"And why the hell not?"

"Because you're twice the man I could ever be. Me, I've got a reckless head on my shoulders and a whole hell of a lot of attitude under my skin, but you, Tony. You make the world better just by being in it."

Tony snorts. The pain is less this time, but he still feels it in his temple. "You really have no idea, do you, Rogers?"

"About what?"

"About what kind of person I am to the people of this day and age."

"Tony--"

"Yeah, sure, I've got some good press, done a few things that might be considered helpful. But at the end of the day? Most people on Earth are more likely to know someone my weapons have killed than give a damn about whatever good publicity I have. You just don't see that because I never let you."

Steve stares at him for a moment that stretches into two, into four, eight, and Tony's doing powers of two in his head just to make the world stop buzzing at the base of his skull. Sixteen. Thirty-two. Sixty-four. One twenty-eight, and then, oh, the tough one, two fifty-six, and--

"Tony?"

Tony blinks and looks up at Cap again. "Yeah?"

Steve's lips thin. "You need rest, Tony. I'll stay up and keep an eye on you. Wake you up every couple hours. Just to make sure--" He stops short at that, eyes wide as they settle on Tony's features.

Oh. Right. Potential brain bleed. Tony swallows and looks away. "Not sure I'm gonna be able to sleep with that hanging over my head, Cap."

Steve reaches out, hand gripping tight to Tony's bicep. "I'll be right here."

"No offense, Cap, but we're stranded in the middle of the Pacific. Even if you realize I'm not waking up, what are you even going to do about it? You're not a doctor."

Steve shrugs. "Guess I'll just have to wing it, then."

That startles a laugh from Tony's chest. "I'm sorry?"

"You know. Figure it out as I go."

Tony shakes his head, the ghost of his laugh still lingering on his lips. "If you say so, Cap."

"I do say so."

Tony smiles up at him. "There's no force on earth that will get you to change your mind once you're set on something, is there?"

"Nope. None."

"That how you got enlisted?"

"Come on, Tony. You know that story better than anyone. You don't need to ask."

Tony smiles, though the expression feels weak on his lips. "Yeah," he says. "Yeah, I guess I don't."

Steve eases Tony into the back of the jet, levering him down onto one of the medical tables they have in the back. "Just rest, Tony. I'll do what I can for the ship. You just rest."

Tony rolls his eyes, then whines a little at the pressure it leaves in his skull. "Just don't break her anymore than she already is."

"Not sure that's possible, Tony," Steve says, voice soft and reassuring.

Tony laughs. Steve's okay. There's a distress signal pinpointing their location to anyone that's listening or looking. And Tony... well, Tony will be as okay as he's meant to be. They're gonna be okay.

Tony closes his eyes and lets himself rest.

**Author's Note:**

> My first fic for H/C Bingo Round 10 and my first foray into the MCU. Unbetaed. [Come hang with me on tumblr!](http://hollyandvice.tumblr.com/)


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